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DPS reports preliminary drop in incidents and suspensions; staff stress need for consistent restorative practice implementation

Durham Public Schools Board of Education · January 16, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Durham Public Schools presented a Priority 2 update showing preliminary reductions in disciplinary incidents (19,972 to 14,161 year-over-year) and declines in restorative-practices and suspension assignments, while staff and board emphasized uneven implementation, data caveats and requests for disaggregated suspension data by infraction and grade level.

Durham Public Schools presented a Priority 2 strategic-plan update focused on student well-being, restorative practices and discipline, with data showing a year-over-year reduction in total reportable student incidents and declines in several suspension measures.

"There was a reduction in total student incidents from 19,972 in 23-24 to 14,161 in 24-25," said Al Royster, executive director of research and accountability, while repeatedly noting the figures are "preliminary, unofficial, and subject to change." Royster also highlighted quarter-one improvements and declines in RPC (Restorative Practices Center) assignments: elementary RPC assignments fell from 2.25% to 1.69% and secondary assignments from 9.28% to 7.92%.

Presenters and board members agreed the data show progress but stressed two consistent themes: (1) implementation is uneven across schools, and (2) data collection and reporting changes (including a shift to Infinite Campus and a drop in Panorama survey participation tied to opt-in changes) limit conclusions. Janelle Sidbury, assistant superintendent for continuous improvement, said the update "is focused on what we are learning, what we are doing, and what we are changing as a system," and emphasized the district is moving from reporting activities toward measuring impact and fidelity.

Board members asked for more detailed breakdowns of suspension data by type of infraction, consequence and grade level to inform an upcoming policy review of the student code of conduct. Staff committed to provide that detail once data verification and system transitions are complete, while warning some recent disaggregations may require additional work because the district is still shifting its reporting systems.

The board also heard concerns from advocates and parents that students with disabilities remain disproportionately affected; a public commenter said "we shouldn't be suspending pre-K students with disabilities," and the board asked staff to review policies and examples from other districts to reduce early-grade suspensions.

What happens next: staff will provide verified discipline reports to the board when DPI validation is complete (anticipated February'March), and will deliver requested drills-by-infraction and grade-level breakdowns to support policy and code-of-conduct revisions.

Provenance: Data review and Q&A are drawn from the Priority 2 presentation and the discipline data slides (presentation begins SEG 1101 and data review occurs SEG 1420'SEG 1560).